Description

The attention that entities in the game world have towards the presence of the PC is extensible to its acoustic expression. That is, in the same way that the visual identification of the PC matters for the game world, the relevance of its acoustic expressions is also meaningful. Conversely, the ability for the character to hear can also be explored beyond the strict Awareness of what happens in the vicinity.

Designing an acoustic presence for the PC and consequences for such expressions enlarges considerably the designers' creative space and allows taking proper advantage of interactivity. Particular explorations include performing Stealth actions, using mechanisms of Sound Suppressing, luring or diverting others' attention through Sound Decoys, explicitly performing sound to achieve a certain result (e.g., as in Sing to Act and Rhythm Gameplay), communicating with other characters (Address Others), using Sonic Weapon, or other behaviours that value non-destructive intervention Make Sound not War. Sounds emitted by the character/player may consist of actual player's Sound Input or may be virtually produced, either as part of the Characters' Soundprint or through actions that they may perform.

In turn, designing the PC's ability to interpret consequent sound emitted by other characters, allows extending the gameplay to include behaviour where that interpretation is actively pursued, such as Eavesdropping and performing Echolocation.

Examples

Grand Theft Auto IV: Using the car horn next to pedestrians makes them get stressed or scared and react accordingly, including through Dialogue. In specific circumstances, the horn can be used to Address Others who may be receptive to that kind of call.